Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the production of hydrogen-rich gas by the partial oxidation of a water saturated gaseous hydrocarbonaceous fuel or a mixture of water saturated gaseous hydrocarbonaceous fuel and a liquid hydrocarbonaceous fuel.
The production of hydrogen-rich gas by the partial oxidation of a liquid hydrocarbonaceous feed or a pumpable slurry of solid carbonaceous feed to produce a raw feed gas which is cleaned and purified and then reacted in a catalyst bed consisting of an alkali-metal promoted mixture of copper uranate and copper oxide to produce a product gas comprising about 20 to 60 mole % hydrogen along with water and acid gases is disclosed in coassigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,292. In coassigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,366, the process gas stream from the partial oxidation of a liquid hydrocarbon material or a slurry of solid carbonaceous feed is cooled, scrubbed, and water-gas shifted in a bed of low temperature catalyst followed by a bed of high temperature catalyst. In coassigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,976, refinery offgas is partially oxidized. However, none of these processes teach applicant's highly efficient process which saturates gaseous hydrocarbonaceous fuel with shift condensate that is heated by direct contact with the process gas stream, and which preheats the saturated gaseous hydrocarbonaceous fuel by indirect heat exchange with at least a portion of the shifted process gas stream prior to introducing the saturated preheated gaseous fuel into the partial oxidation gas generator either alone or as a mixture of saturated gaseous hydrocarbonaceous fuel and liquid hydrocarbonaceous fuel.